This book didn't cut it for me. The main character didn't sound appealing and the style felt overwritten.

I received this copy from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. I’m afraid the book was a little too slow for me. I found myself skipping through pages waiting for something to happen. Too slow a read for me. ⭐️⭐️

I rarely DNF books, but I must admit I just could get into this one. Life is not all sweets and cheers but I guess I need something happier as a read right now.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by @fionacollinsauthor and I was immediately drawn to it by the gorgeous cover. I love visiting London so was excited to start this one. I received an arc from the publisher @penguinrandomhouse via @netgalley.

The story follows Prue and her father as they take the summer to rediscover the city in a new way.

There are so many locations in London throughout this book, some known to me and some not. I loved this aspect of the book, with vivid description you feel transported.

At first I was worried about connecting with Prue as she’s 18 years older than me and recently, or in fact, most of the books we read the characters are around our age (cue getting old feels). However, this turned out not to be an issue and was more a feeling that I didn’t connect Prue to her age if that makes sense, she definitely felt younger.

Prue deals with a lot of ups and downs throughout the book that really challenge her to reflect on how she sees herself, how she loves her life and her relationships. This is a touching story that proves it’s never too late to discover and rediscover what you love in life.

The story of Vince and Pru was beautifully written. The description of London's hidden architectural gems was inspiring. Places I've never visited but will do next time I'm in London. I was literally walking the streets with them. The history behind Vince and Pru being stuck in a rut was heartbreaking. How they both Grew on their journey was just beautiful. The relationship between Pru and Salvi was clever but disturbing that such guys exist. I had been wondering how the start to the story linked in and this was expertly worked in. A truly beautiful read. At times you wanted to shake Pru but as her history unfolded you totally got it. An absolute triumph of a novel!

I received an advance copy of, Summer in the City, by Fiona Collins. I found this book, sad, boring, and depressing.

I’ve been looking forward to reading Fiona Collins’ latest book for a while, as I loved You, Me and the Movies. Summer in the City was well worth waiting for – it’s an uplifting, funny and inspiring read about getting back out into the world again.

Fiona shows a great insight into the thoughts, feelings and dilemmas of women of a certain age, a social group who isn’t generally well-represented in fiction. It’s an age where women look back, wondering whether they made the right decisions, and look forward to see whether they want to continue with the life they have. In society and often in their relationships they tend to be invisible, but Fiona shows us with intelligence and humour that there is so much more to them than meets the eye.

In Summer in the City, Prue has lived a life of quiet desperation. She lives with her father, whose own life was once full of possibility. They each feel separate from society and at the point the novel opens they are emotionally separate from each other.

The book is set over one summer in London and every scene is as vivid as a movie. We see the city through Prue’s eyes and through her father’s memories. She has such compassion, a dry wit, and a tender touch as she tells us how Prue and her dad return to life.

Highly recommended.

This was just not for me. I couldn't get into it and, were it not provided by NetGalley, I would have DNF'd it. It's over-written, feels very mechanical, felt very forced. Every page had some version of "I get into bed. I lay down. I hear my Dad doing something", which felt repetitive and became exhausting very quickly.

I could not finish this one. I just could not get into it. The physical descriptions of the characters read like an obligatory list of facial and body parts, and the interactions between characters are wooden and forced. This is just not for me. I wish I could but I just didn't enjoy

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.